Serena Holds Off Ivanovic In Cincinnati Final Rematch
World number one Serena Williams climbed out of a deep hole at the Western & Southern Open on Friday, battling back from a set down to beat Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Ivanovic gave Serena all she could handle on Friday. Fighting off an opening game break, the Serb won six of the next eight games to take the opener 6-3.
In the second, Serena opened up a 3-0 advantage, only to see it evaporate to a 3-4 deficit. But the American didn’t cave in, getting the break back and winning the final three games to force the match into a deciding third set.
Again, she dug herself a hole, this time a 0-2 deficit to start the third set. But she stormed back, winning the final six games to make her way into the final four.
“Out of the previous nine times we’ve played I think we’ve gone three sets at least six times, so I know she plays really well,” said Serena. “She knows what to do. She’s been No.1, she’s won a Grand Slam. I knew it was going to be a big test for me today, and I’m really happy I was able to get through that. I just decided that if I wanted to stay out here and keep playing, I had to pick my game up a level.”
Serena has now won 42 straight matches on hard-courts in the United States.
She will play the winner of 14th seed Elina Svitolina and sixth-seed Lucie Safarova.
